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Japanese Company to Inexpensively Convert Gasoline Vehicles into Electric Vehicles

Oct 31 (Sun ), 2010

Japanese Company to Inexpensively Convert Gasoline Vehicles into Electric Vehicles

Hyakkado, a Japanese company which manufactures and sells electric vehicles (EVs) and their parts, announced on July 14, 2010, the start of a service to convert gasoline vehicles into EVs. While a new EV costs nearly four million yen (about US$45,000), the new service offers consumers an EV at an investment of less than 1.5 million yen (about US$17,000).

The company makes an EV by converting the client's existing car. Unnecessary parts, including the gasoline engine, exhaust pipe, and fuel tank are removed from the vehicle, and an EV motor and a battery are installed in their place. Operating and travel devices are retained. Although the cruising distance varies depending on driving conditions, the test vehicle ran for 45 kilometers on a test run on a public road. The company is mainly targeting vehicles used for short-distance pickup and delivery within the local community.

The service costs 1,298,000 yen (about US$15,000) including tax. It is offered as a package which includes the conversion parts kit, vehicle conversion work, all associated paperwork up through obtaining a vehicle number, and driving and maintenance workshops.
The company started this conversion service for 15 vehicles per month at its factory in Tokyo, planning to increase the number to 100 in a year. For the time being, this service is intended only for stick shift light vehicles.